Marine
by Lady Of Embers
Summary: The short story of Marine De Oakfield, the loyal Henchwoman to Sparrow, Queen of Albion.
1. Chapter 1

_Run…run…run…that's it, your training is nearing completion. This year shall be the penultimate of your training. You will stop soon enough, Little Sparrow, and then you will be able to take down Lucien._

Theresa's voice echoed in her mind. Sparrow grinned, then grunted and sped through the forest. As she ran she mused on the night that Rose had died-again.

Anyone watching would have noticed the line of determination across her brow, the clenched teeth and fists, the sudden pick up of the pace. They would, also, wonder as to why she was bereft of shoes.  
Then one look at the soles of her feet would have revealed them about as tough as leather. But since no-one was around, no-one noticed these changes.

And Sparrow had long since ceased caring about what her body did while she ran.

_She says so little. Ever since Rose died, she has said next to nothing._ Theresa sighed. She worried for the child. Silent. Stately. She killed as an assassin and nothing less.  
_A truly formidable warrior, and not even at her peak. Ah, Sparrow, how strong you will be once you complete your training? Not to mention once you unlock your powers._  
Theresa's lips were allowed a brief, slight smile, before she turned on her heel and walked back into the gypsy camp.  
Sparrow completed her run round the lake and skidded to a halt as she encountered a bandit.

"Ello darlin!" He leered.  
"Huh." Sparrow grunted-once again, displaying a profoundly honed lack of bother and verbal justice towards the situation.  
"Eh?" He said, confused. Sparrow just smirked and removed his head. His last expression was priceless.

_Ouch, he had that coming._ Theresa told her. Sparrow laughed, then sprinted round the lake again.  
_Once you're done, Sparrow, come back to the camp. It's getting dark._ Theresa ordered. Sparrow nodded, and sped off round the lake.  
This time, she mused upon the various ways of killing Lucien.  
_I'm going to corner that man, and I'm going to shoot him in the nuts first.  
Then I'll shoot him in the heart-if he has one, which I doubt.  
_She smiled, and the one woman that _was_ around squealed and fled for her life at the sight of the evil grin that had spread itself across the face of one renowned in the camp for being virtuous and beautiful.

As darkness fell, Sparrow entered the camp. She got a few appraising looks from some of the boys. Confused, she walked over to Theresa.

"Got looked at." She said.

"You are fifteen, Sparrow. You're a young woman. Of course they'll look at you. And you are very pretty, you know." Theresa added. Sparrow blushed.

"Not getting distracted, though. I'll be fine." She said, determined. Theresa nodded her approval.

_She's getting so focused, it's incredible._ Sparrow smiled at the approval. Theresa was the closest thing she had to a mother.

"Now, to bed." Theresa ordered, and Sparrow obeyed. She jumped over her little picket fence, then climbed into her caravan and closed the doors. She lay down on her mat and sighed peacefully.

_Soon, I'll have my revenge. Lucien will pay for what he's done to Rose. _She crossed her fingers and then uncrossed them. A strange, aching feeling came to her gut, and a strange picture appeared in her mind. A man, who she had never seen before, with black hair, pale skin and red clothes.  
_Who is this and what does this mean?_ She shook her head and ridded herself of the image.  
_I need to focus on my fighting, not on some guy who I've never seen before and most likely never will.  
Boys aren't my priority. Focus, Sparrow, FOCUS!_

So saying, she drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The little girl watched the house burn.

"MUMMY!" She screamed. A large hand clamped over her mouth and she bit down on the fingers. A howl echoed from behind her, and she whirled round.  
Two slave traders stood behind her, one holding her brother Seth, the other nursing a bitten hand. There was a third, running out the house with a swag bag. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Why are you doing this?" She whimpered.

"Listen girlie, Oakfield is pretty darned wealthy right now. And slavery is even more profitable." The man who had spoken snapped his fingers.

"Change her clothes." He ordered. She felt her nightie being tugged off her, and a rough, itchy brown sack dress replace it.  
She was picked up and unceremoniously flung over a slaver's shoulder. She hit him with all the strength she could, but he refused to relinquish his hold on her.  
She sighed, and tears streamed down her face.

She must have fallen asleep when they made camp, because what she remembered was making the crossing to Rookridge and then a fire being lit.  
She had huddled close to Seth and they had drifted out of consciousness. But she was roughly shaken awake. They were out of Oakfield, and they could put them in a cage now.

"Seth?" She asked quietly. A piece of bread hit her.

"Shuddup and eat." Came a harsh voice. "Seth." She whispered. Her brother looked at her sleepily.

"Marine?"

"Seth, where are we going?" She asked.

"I don't know, Marine." She sighed, upset.

Seth was her non-identical twin. Ginger, blue eyes and fair skin, he had always been determined to protect his little sister. But he had failed. In his own eyes he was a failure.

_I promised to keep her safe, and yet nothing could stop this. Oh, our poor farm! And our poor parents!_ Seth began crying, and Marine joined in.

"Shut up!" Roared the slaver, and they ignored him. Only when the slaver banged the cage did they stop, albeit with several sniffles and a fair amount of eye wiping.

They had fallen asleep again when they stopped. They were outside Bowerstone, and the slavers couldn't bring them further because of the various guards.  
So, they loaded them into barrels and put them on a cart, then led their horses through Bowerstone.

Marine saw nothing but the rough planks of the barrel, but she could smell sawdust and fresh-cut grass. She had heard that, eight years ago, Bowerstone Old Town had been a place of poverty.  
But then a guard named Derek had arrested the gang responsible and since then they had poured a lot of money into recreating the place, turning it into a safe haven for families.  
She wished she could see it, but she knew that if she made too much noise, they would punish her afterwards. She kept her mouth shut.

She heard the change from cobbles to stone. _It's Bowerstone Bridge. We're going over Bowerstone Bridge. If only I could see the view!_ She wished. She kept quiet anyway.

"Are we going to bother with the barred contraption once we're out of Bowerstone?"

"Nah, we'll carry them."

"You sure? I'm not sure I can lug the little blonde fatso around for too long. She's extremely heavy."

"We're carrying them. Thag is going to meet us once we're at Bower Lake. Then we'll have safe passage to Westcliff, and then we can sell these little devils."

"Alright, but we're swapping every hour, alright? The blonde girl is, as I recall saying, _fat_."

_So, they're carrying us? And I am NOT fat! If only I could say something. But I'm so scared, I don't know what to do. But at least I'll be free from this daft barrel and I'll get some scenery!  
_She smiled at this thought.

Marine was not to know that the slavers' decision was going to reshape her life in a way she could never even imagine.


	3. Chapter 3

Sparrow woke to the sound of birds.

_I'm going swimming._ Sparrow LOVED swimming. That was one of the things the gypsies had taught her.  
She smiled, then threw open the door of her caravan, donned her shoes this time, and ran to the lake.  
She dived in, and swum for ten minutes. Then she got out and did several laps of the lake before meeting Theresa for breakfast and the instructions for today.

"There are some bandits who have strayed too far from Thag's camp. You might want to deal with them." Theresa advised.  
Sparrow nodded, and, finishing off her beef jerky, she wiped her mouth and sped off out the gate. Theresa smiled, then headed off down the road to a little lake with a pier.

"Buried for now, but I know it will dry up." She said, staring down into the water. _I remember seeing the place for the first time, too_.

Sparrow crawled through the grass until she saw over the edge of a ledge.  
Sure enough, there were three bandits there, all standing together looking stupid.

_Wouldn't be the first time._ She thought. She pulled herself over the ledge, drawing her sword.

"Ello, luv!" Said one.

"Isn't she a beauty?" Another commented.

"Whatever." She told them, and slashed the first's head off. The other two drew their swords and rushed at her.  
She ducked, and, twirling round, she threw her sword in the air, caught it and slashed the bandit across the stomach.  
Then she stabbed him through the heart for good measure. The last one attempted to flee.  
She stepped on his foot hard, then shoved her sword through his belly and pushed up.

Her face and chocolate eyes were the last thing he saw. Then he fell backwards and she wiped her sword.

"Theresa, thanks." She said, before turning back to the camp.

"Time to run, Rin?" She suggested. She heard barking, and saw her lovely Rin bouncing towards her.  
"Sweet thing! There you are! Who's the best?" This emotionally scarring banter continued for a good two minutes before Sparrow finally gave him a dog treat.  
He barked his pleasure and set off after rabbits. She laughed, and followed at a sharp pace. _Rin's my little joker.  
He always makes me feel better, no matter where we are._ She smiled, and jumped over a rock that she just _knew _had moved in to trip her up.

Theresa watched her progress thoughtfully.

"So, is she ready for her first true battle with evil?" She wondered, staring straight into the distance, where she could see, in her mind's eye, three men carrying two children.

_Twins, but not identical. These two have suffered as Sparrow has suffered. Yet they will suffer more before they are released-though in different ways_.  
Theresa turned away and looked towards the gypsies. _They will accommodate this one better than they accommodated Sparrow, though only because she is fairer-haired.  
Bleeding discrimination against brunettes._ Theresa thought, annoyed. _After all, my brother was a brunette and there was nothing wrong with him. Ahh, Oakvale._ She smiled and remembered a time long ago, when her home was still intact.

Sparrow was doing leg warmups when she saw, coming down the road, three men clad in black.  
What angered her was the two children they were carrying, quite without care, on their backs.  
She had only ever heard of slavers, but seeing their callousness sent a shiver of apprehension down her spine. Then her chocolate eyes narrowed.

_So, perhaps that's what the bandits were waiting for. The slavers and their human cargo. Unbelievable! I won't allow this to pass.  
These are _children_ for crying out loud. I will rescue them. _Her brow furrowed slightly, when she weighed the odds.

"You're dead." Sparrow hissed, and turned away.


	4. Chapter 4

Marine sniffed a little, as the slavers looked around the valley, confused.

"Where's Bill, Pete and Greg?" Asked one.

"Shut it! Remember, there are those freaky gypsies and their weird magic." Hissed the leader.

"We'll have to pitch camp and wait until they send them. In the mean time, tie those two up." He ordered. Marine was dumped on the ground, then tied to Seth.

"Seth? You okay?"

"No."

"I always wanted to go to Bower Lake…just not in the hands of slavers."

"Do you think anyone's repairing our house?" Seth whispered. "I hope so." Marine sighed.

"Oi, blondie, shut yer cakehole." Called a slaver who was making a fire. She blew a raspberry at him, and hid her face.

"Right, you're going to get it for that." He punched her round the face.

"Oi, you." He heard a cool feminine voice, and looked up…straight under a woman's skirt. He leered at her. She scowled and jumped off the ledge.  
He eyed her warily. She was dressed like a peasant, in a pauper's blouse and skirt with some shoddy boots, but she seemed dangerous.  
He licked his lips with anticipation. Her hair and eyes were a chocolate brown, and the former was tied into a ponytail with a piece of old ribbon. She looked at him, disgusted.

"How much?"

"We're not selling them here." Came the snarling voice of their leader.  
The girl-she looked about fifteen-put her hands on her hips, and the effect was that her chest stuck out slightly, giving one of the slavers a rather interesting side on view.

"Can't we haggle something?" He wheedled. The leader sighed.

"200 gold for the both of them." Her eyebrows raised.

"Girl's a bit bashed around. Give you fifty."

"You ain't in a position to haggle anything but UP, girlie."

"You can't treat your stock like that."

"Uh…"

"Look at them. No chance. No value for money, see." She said. She slowly pulled her skirt up to reveal some more leg, not that they noticed the pulling motion, but they certainly noticed the spare leg.

"You get em both for a hundred." Blurted out one of them. She smiled at him seductively.

"Excuse me? 150 and that's my final offer." She rolled her eyes and reached into her money bag. _Crap, I only have 50 gold._ She went pale, and looked up at the slaver.

"Just the girl, then." She said, and her eyes misted up. The slaver looked pissed off.

"That was a waste of my time. Here's my final offer." He said, and shot Seth. The girl looked outraged.

"GET BACK HERE!" She screamed as the traders scrambled. They left Marine behind, and she quickly dragged him over to the other girl. She picked him up, and carried him back to camp.


	5. Chapter 5

The gypsies could do nothing to save him. The best they could do was extract the bullet, but that wouldn't save his life. Marine sat by her brother the entire time, holding his hand.

"I'm sorry I failed to protect you before, Marine." Seth croaked.

"You never failed me! You never!" She sobbed, hugging him. The brunette girl who had saved them was quiet. She held Seth as though he were a baby.

"Brave boy, Seth. You'll go somewhere better." He smiled.

"Thanks." He whispered, and his eyelid closed gently. Marine held his hand, felt the cooling body.

"Seth…" She whispered. The older girl got up, leaving Seth on the pallet. She walked outside, and to the parapet over the gates. As the gypsies went to bury Seth's body, Marine joined her.

"What's your name?" She asked quietly. The girl viewed her with strange eyes. Marine sensed she knew what it was like.

Sparrow suddenly felt like it was okay to be conversational. A great weight had been lifted from her tongue.

"I'm Sparrow." Said Sparrow.

"You look like you understand my pain." Marine confessed.

"More than you know, Marine." Sparrow sighed.

"Could you…tell me?" Marine asked timidly.

"Once upon a time, when I was seven, my sister Rose and I wound up a magical music box that would grant our wishes. But it vanished.  
We thought the wish was wasted. In the middle of the night, however, guards came to tell us Lord-_Lucien-_" Here, her mouth twisted into a snarl, and Marine stepped back ", wanted to see us. So we went along, thinking the wish had worked. We were taken to Lucien's office. He asked us to stand in a stone platform at one end of the office. When we did, it glowed blue.  
When he touched it, the glow turned red. One of us was destined to be a foe to him. So he shot us both. He killed Rose first. I can still remember her dying scream, even to this day." Sparrow whispered. Marine gasped.

"He turned on me. He told me it wasn't what he'd wanted. But he shot me anyway. I fell out the window, and Theresa and my Rin rescued me. So, I began training to defeat Lucien." Sparrow said.

"Who's Rin?" Marine asked.

"Rin!" Sparrow called. A small, brown dog approached the little girl.

"This is Rin. He's been there for me all the times I can remember. He and Theresa are the closest thing I have to a family." Sparrow told her.

"Sparrow…can I be part of your family?" Marine asked.

"Yes." Sparrow said, and hugged her.

"You can be my little sister." She said, and Marine smiled.

_I'll make you proud, Seth. I promise_.


	6. Chapter 6

Marine trained with Sparrow for two years. She was seven when Sparrow was ready, and Theresa kept her at the gypsy camp for a few more weeks while she really got the basics.

"The swordplay will come naturally to you." Theresa promised. So that was how Sparrow came to be trailing round Albion with a seven-year-old hot on her heels.  
When they went to recruit Hammer, or, as she was then, Sister Hannah, the aforementioned was a little disconcerted to see one so _little _doing such dirty work.  
Marine stopped calling herself Sparrow's sister, however, and settled for the term of 'Henchwoman.' She took great pride in calling herself that.  
But the day came all too soon when they were forced to part. Marine waited anxiously outside the Crucible, and cheered when Sparrow emerged victorious.  
But the cheering was half-hearted, as Sparrow set off for the Spire about a week later. For ten years, Marine trained again, growing her hair out, becoming a young woman.  
She was soon the object of many appreciative looks from many young men, and even some young women.  
At this time, she met a boy named Rick, who was a prick at first but then decided he fancied her. So, when Sparrow, accompanied by Garth after the ten years' lapse, looked down the pier at Oakfield, she saw Theresa, Rin…and a young woman of astounding beauty, obvious grace and long hair. Marine, aged seventeen, was not to be messed with. EVER. Sparrow greeted the girl warmly, and they returned home.

But their story is not over…


End file.
